Bread rolls (Czech rohlíky)

I guess it is pretty natural to crave the most basic things when you live abroad. This is one of the things I sometimes miss in Finland. Everybody in the Czech Republic knows them. When they are freshly baked, they are delicious with just a bit of butter, or butter and honey. Kids like to put some chocolate spread on top.

Czech hot dogs are also made with these. The most traditional way is to put the roll on a heated spike, dip the sausage in mustard or ketchup and put it in the preheated roll.
I used to think that I would never achieve the same flavour I crave and did not even try to make the rolls for a long time. Several weeks ago I searched for some recipes, combined a couple of them and I was actually surprised how great they came out.

Mix the milk, water, yeast and sugar. Let it be for some minutes until small bubbles appear. Combine with the remaining ingredients and knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Let it rise and divide into 8-10 pieces. With a rolling pin, roll each piece into a long and thin oval shape.

Dip a brush into your remaining milk and brush the dough lightly (it prevents the rolls from opening). Then roll the dough using your hands. It helps to pull it slightly from the centre to the sides. Roll the finished bread roll again to make it even.

When you have all the pieces rolled up, brush the tops with milk as well and bake in the oven (220C) for about 10 – 15 minutes. You can put a small pot with water at the bottom of your oven to get a bit of steam. I have seen it in some recipes and used it for my rolls. They came out really nice but they will be good without it too:-) You can try mixing different types of flour. I have tried a combination of wheat, spelt and rye and it worked fine as well.